SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — After owning a restaurant for 16 years, Paul Kapoor has had some ups and downs, but nothing could compare to this past year. 

“We were losing 70 percent of revenue,” Kapoor said. 

Kapoor owns Gateway to India in Longwood and said CARES Act funding from April has helped him survive the initial big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Which helped a lot, at that point, because we were struggling paying off the bills,” Kapoor said.

Kapoor was one of more than 2,600 small business owners who received $10,000.​

“Seminole CARES is the largest aid effort in this county’s history,” Seminole County Board of Commissioners Chairman Lee Constantine said. 

Constantine highlighted the massive $82 million CARES funding program in his State of the County address on Thursday. 

“Our staff had only six months with no previous infrastructure to develop a spending plan, implement grant programs, and distribute the money to those that needed it most,” Constantine said.

Seminole County Board of Commissioners Chairman Lee Constantine (Photo by Dan Messineo/Spectrum News)

Not only did the county help businesses, but it assisted more than 5,000 residents to the tune of $22 million.

As the financial need continues for many residents, the county is now launching an emergency rental assistance program Monday.   

For Kapoor, he’s now looking toward the future.  

“Business has been picking up,” Kapoor said. 

With a big boost in takeout and delivery, Kapoor’s business has doubled from where it was before the pandemic.

He said he’s hoping the struggles of the last year will soon just be a memory and a teaching moment for his three children.  

“Hopefully, we will share these stories or memories with them,” Kapoor said. “We struggled and we survived — never give up.”

Seminole County leaders also highlighted their vaccine effort, which began in late December. More than 50,000 people have been vaccinated so far, they said.